Japan pledges gap money for Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal

[JURIST] Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura [official profile] has pledged $11 million to fill a funding gap for a tribunal to try former Khmer Rouge [Wikipedia backgrounder] leaders for genocide, according to Cambodian government sources. Machimura met with Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong in Phnom Penh on Friday. The Khmer Rouge trials are expected to cost over $70 million and the Cambodian government itself was only able to come up with $1 million. Japan had previously agreed to cover half the budget, while Australia, Britain and France have offered $10 million each. Earlier this month, the Cambodian opposition's Sam Rainsy party [official website] called for the Cambodian government to allow public contributions [JURIST report] and Cambodian officials also appealed to the UN for additional funding [JURIST report] in March. Japan's Kyodo News has more.

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